Monday, July 30, 2007

Boston is offering taxi cab owners $1,000 each to buy a hybrid taxi. Up to $40,000 will be given out in an effort to promote hybrids in Beantown.

While taxi drivers like driving hybrids, they pay for the gas out of their own pockets, taxi car owners (fleet owners) aren't sold on hybrids, yet. Brett Barenholtz, CEO of Boston Cab Co. Dispatch, which owns 15 of the city’s 19 hybrid cabs points out the purchase price for those 15 hybrid cars cost his company $450,000. Buying 15 Crown Victorias would have cost them about $105,000.

Taxi Cab drivers point to the gas savings and the new Logan policy as to why they want to drive the hybrid Camry taxicabs. While the company charges them $10 a day to take out the hybrid, they can save $20 a day on gas. Also, when they pull into Logan, they get to go to the head of the line to pick up their passengers. And there are some customers who are requesting a hybrid to get around town.

Mark Cohen, director of the licensing division at the Boston Police Department thinks the $1,000 grant may appeal to the smaller companies or independent cabbies.

"It’s a small grant, but for the little guys it’s $1,000 that helps them get going on this," Cohen said.

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